Beware the Bertie Beetle showbag bite at Brisbane’s Ekka

BEWARE of the new Bertie Beetle showbag surcharge slug for electronic transactions at this year’s Ekka.

The seller of the iconic showbag has introduced a 50c surcharge for all paywave sales which equates to a 25 per cent mark-up on a $2 Bertie Beetle bag.

Chicane Marketing, which sells Bertie Beetle bags, also has among its offerings the Kit Kat, Tim Tam, Wagon Wheel and Wonka showbags.

media_cameraA Bertie Beetle show bag may cost you 25 per cent extra in surcharges.

An RNA spokeswoman said only one showbag seller had introduced a surcharge.

“There is one showbag operator out of seven that is charging a 50c surcharge on paywave, the other six operators are not,” the spokeswoman said.

“The one operator, who is Chicane, is letting people know there is a 50c surcharge on paywave so customers have a choice.”

A spokeswoman for Chicane Marketing said a surcharge was introduced when they first started offering EFTPOS transactions two years ago.

“We are completely within our rights as a business to charge the fee. Our staff inform all customers of this charge prior to the transaction so that customers can make an informed decision as to whether to pay with cash or card,” she told The Courier-Mail.

“We are a small business which earns revenue over a limited number of show days each year.

There are significant costs involved in hiring EFTPOS terminals for such short periods, significantly more than typical retailers.

“The 50c surcharge helps us cover most of the cost of each transaction.”

She said it was “faster” and “cheaper” for sales staff to handle cash.